Creative Arts and Humanities
Courses give students a better understanding and appreciation of the visual and performing arts, of aesthetic forms, designs, or craftsmanship, or of literary, philosophical, and intellectual traditions. Courses may focus on a single aesthetic form or intellectual tradition, or cross-cultural differences or similarities.
History and Cultural Change
Courses provide students with an understanding of the sources and forces of historical change in ideas, beliefs, institutions, and cultures. Courses may address social, cultural, intellectual, economic, technological, artistic, scientific, and political development, changes in a discipline, or globalization and its effects.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Courses provide students with an understanding of the behavior of individuals and social groups in the context of their human and natural environments. Courses emphasize the empirical findings, applications, and methods of the social and behavioral sciences.
Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology
Courses provide students with an understanding of fundamental and/or applied concepts and phenomena of mathematics, logic, and the natural and physical sciences, and methods used to approach and solve problems. The laboratory component provides exposure to the working methods of science.
Second Writing Requirement
The intention of the second writing requirement is:
- to provide students with a significant expository writing experience in English prose; and
- to provide students the opportunity to practice and improve written communication skills that will be applicable to their academic and professional goals.
The members of the Arts and Science Educational Affairs Committee agree that the most effective way to produce improvement in writing skills is to provide students with expert guidance in conceptualizing and organizing their assignments, thorough feedback on their written work, and opportunities to apply that feedback to subsequent assignments. The committee recognizes that these goals may be achieved through a variety of writing experiences, and it encourages all departments in the college to offer second writing courses that require writing in formats appropriate to their disciplines. The committee offers the following criteria for the approval of second writing courses:
Format: Second Writing Courses must require:
Two or more assignments that total at least 3000 words of graded content. Both preliminary drafts and final drafts can be considered “assignments.” A single 1500-word paper which is revised and resubmitted will not count twice to equal the 3000-word minimum. A series of shorter assignments such as lab reports, summaries, reviews, short essays, etc. are perfectly acceptable as long as each of them demonstrates some writing component of at least 200 words.
The instructor must provide thorough written or oral critiques of all required assignments which compose the second writing component. Students must then apply the critiques to one or more subsequent assignments which will then be evaluated by the instructor.
A single assignment which does not allow sufficient time for critique and revision, such as one handed in at the end of the term, is not acceptable.
The specific assignments making up the second writing component of any course must be clearly presented in the syllabus as well as how they will be assessed. (i.e. example2 papers of 1700 words each, 4 lab reports of 2-3 pages and 1 paper 5-7 pgs., etc.) This must be attached with the submitted proposal.
This course must be taken after the student has completed 60 credits and they must receive a grade of C- or better to receive credit.
Class size: maximum of 30 students unless a waiver is obtained.
Adopted by the College Senate 5-19-03 (Revised 5-21-18)